This course consists in the analysis of texts from the core canon of Italian literature, which stand out from an aesthetic, as well as civil and historical point of view, in relation to the establishment of national cultural identity. Critical reading begins by assessing their philological and documentary features and develops through issues regarding their literary genre and the theoretical debates involved, while bringing out the rhetorical aspects and expressive language of these works.
Texts and Criticism:
Required reading is the full text of I cavalli bianchi (1905), Lanterna (1907), Poemi (1909), L’incendiario (1910 and 1913), in ALDO PALAZZESCHI, Tutte le poesie, edited and introduction by Adele Dei, Milano, Mondadori, 2002.
Criticism:
SIMONE MAGHERINI, Avanguardie storiche a Firenze e altri studi tra Otto e Novecento, Firenze, Società Editrice Fiorentina, 2012, pp. 239-287, 311-340 (section IV, Nel laboratorio di Palazzeschi).
Learning Objectives
Knowledge
This course aims to introduce twentieth-century Italian poetry from the lofty perspective of Aldo Palazzeschi’s poetic experience.
Specific methods of reading and analysis of literary texts will be practised upon Palazzeschi’s early collections of poetry.
The course includes rudiments of metric, rhetoric and philology, besides presenting the main tools for study of Italian literature. Several specific issues are tackled (literature and national identity; history, geography and biography in the study of literature).
Competence
The course involves a first look at scientific editions from Italian literary tradition as well as bibliographical sources; it will also prepare students to use text commentary tools properly; students will have a first experience with bibliographical research in the library; their public speaking skills will be refined.
Prerequisites
An excellent knowledge of the Italian language is necessary, as are mastery of grammatical and syntactical structures of written Italian; students must be well able to read literary and critical texts and be skilled in using dictionaries and commentaries. Finally, an important prerequisite is a thorough knowledge of Italian national history.
Teaching Methods
Lectures.
Video-recorded lectures are uploaded onto the Moodle platform in order to allow distance learning in case of a health emergency.
Power-point presentations, pdf support materials and materials for further study (where applicable) are also available on Moodle.
Students are encouraged to participate, ask questions and maintain a direct relationship with the professor, even during weekly consultation hours.
Further information
Students are expected to keep dutifully to attendance rules.
Each student must sign the attendance sheet personally at the beginning of each session, using the Moodle e-learning platform.
Type of Assessment
All students (even those who do not attend lectures or are participating in exchange programmes) must take a final oral exam, which assesses general knowledge of all the material covered in the course.
The oral examination is an interview aimed at assessing the following learning objectives: familiarity with the bibliography and materials discussed in lectures and made available on our e-learning platform; acquaintance with the distinctive features of Italian literature as pertaining to the specific focus of the course; skill in using the methodological and critical tools of the discipline; skill in reading, analysis and commentating texts on the curriculum.
Students must demonstrate a sufficient grasp of the learning objectives for the course in order to pass the final examination.
The final mark is based on the mark obtained on the oral examination.
Course program
Course Title:
Early Twentieth-Century Italian Poetry: Palazzeschi (1905-1915)
This course aims to introduce twentieth-century Italian poetry from the lofty perspective of Aldo Palazzeschi’s poetic experience.
Specific methods of reading and analysis of literary texts will be practised upon Palazzeschi’s early collections of poetry.
The course includes rudiments of metric, rhetoric and philology, besides presenting the main tools for study of Italian literature. Several specific issues are tackled (literature and national identity; history, geography and biography in the study of literature).